A zoo-keeper from the city of Ufa in the Ural mountains has adopted two tiger cubs after their mother rejected them.
The two Amur tiger cubs were rejected by their mother, Astra, at birth, whereupon zoo keeper, Vladimir Aivazyan, quickly decided to take them into his own home. They live in his children's room and they need just as much attention as their room mates. “For the first three days I was getting used to them. They were crying and calling for their mum. I already have a lot of experience with my own three children, so it's easy to take care of these guys,” says “mother” Albina Aivazyan, Vladimir's wife. Pupsik and Pomidorchik, whose names can be roughly translated as “baby doll” and “little tomato”, are not the first animals that the Aivazyan family have taken care of. In his 30 years with the zoo, Vladimir Aivazyan has nursed back to health many of his charges. The cubs have not developed a taste for meat yet but in a few months they'll get their first sharp teeth and within a year each one could weigh over a 100 kilograms. The cubs have only a couple of months left to live in the cozy flat. Vladimir says he's already received several offers from different zoos to take the tigers, but says he will only give them to the best places possible.